MEDIA ALERT: ST PETERS PROTEST AGAINST WESTCONNEX DEMOLITIONS

RESIDENTS will gather in front of the homes and businesses now being demolished for the WestCONnex tollway in St Peters tomorrow to protest their destruction.

“Scores of families and hardworking small businesses have been forced out of St Peters to make way for WestCONnex’s monstrous St Peters interchange,” said WestCONnex Action Group (WAG) spokesperson Rhea Liebmann.

“The Baird government should not proceeding with these destructive works when the removal of WestCONnex’s Camperdown exit makes the traffic, air quality, noise and financial projections for the St Peters Interchange all wrong.”

The protest comes just days a scathing audit by the NSW Auditor-General on Sydney’s light rail project found it "suffered many of the same problems" as WestCONnex, including “underestimated costs and overestimated benefits".

“It is appalling that the Baird government is ploughing ahead with this destruction when there are so many red flags around WestCONnex – and when it will see drivers from western Sydney pay tolls of up to $25 a day to drive into inner-city traffic jams,” said Ms Liebmann.

An Open Letter to Premier Mike Baird, Roads Minister Duncan Gay and Planning Minister Rob Stokes launched this week attracted over 2,000 signatures in less than 36 hours, and has received cross-partisan support from Labor, Greens and independent politicians.

“The Open Letter calls on Baird, Gay and Stokes to finally do the right thing, halt work on the St Peters Interchange, and stop the secrecy around WestCONnex by holding an urgent review. And we encourage everyone to join us at this protest, where we’ll be repeating this call,” said Ms Liebmann.